Apparatus and process for dehairing animal carcasses



B. E. HILL APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR DEHAIRING ANIMAL CARCASSES I Filed Jan. 1923 2 heets-Sheet 1 7&1 J

8. E. HILL APPARATUS AND YROCBSS FOR DBPAIRING ANIMAL CARCASSIS rue Jan, 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Shea 2 Oct. 6, 1925.

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Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATE?) P 1,555,112 ATENT OFFICE.

BERT EUGEIIE HILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'IO ALLIED PACKERS, IN: OORPORATED, OF CHICAGO, ILLEFQIS, A GOBPORATION DELAWARE.

APPARATUS AND PROCESS Application filed January To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, BERT EUGENE HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Apparatus and Process for Dehairing Animal Carcasses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is concerned with the teehairing of animal carcasses, and more particularly has to do with an improved apparatus and process for dehairing hogs,

The main and primary object of the invention resides in the provision of such an apparatus which is adapted to effect a thorough removal of the hair from the entire carcass, including particularly the more inaccessible portions which are ordinarily only partially dehaired by the forms of apparatus heretofore employed.

Another important object resides in the provision of a novel process for dehairing animal carcasses, one of the divers structural means for practicing which process is exemplified in the improved apparatus of this invention.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the nature of the same is understood from the follow-- ing detailed description based upon the accompanying drawings wherein is shown what is now considered to be a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is evident that the construction hereinafter set forth may be varied in minor details without materially changing the principles 11nderlying this disclosure, and it should therefore be understood that this embodiment is not intended to restrict the spirit of the invention or to limit unnecessarily the scope of the claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a dehairing apparatus embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side'elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is an end "elevation of the same; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the braking members;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of the braking member and Fi 7 is a transverse section taken "on the line ?7 of Fig. 4. V

Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that the present invention is incor-' DEHAIRING ANIMAL cAncA-ssns. 1 a

6, 1923. Serial no. 611,019.

porated in a well-known form of dehairing machine which comprises a frame 10, an

scalding tub 14.- to a gambrelling bench 15; a

and the scalded hog carcasses to be dehaired are carried from the tub to the adjacent-end of the passageway in the frame by means of an inclined conveyor 16 and are subsequently discharged in a dehaired condition from the other end of the passageway to the gambrelling bench by means of a chute 17. The U-shaped bars 11 which co-operate to form the passageway through the frame are each provided with a vertical side 18, an inclined side 19, and a base portion 20 which extends in a gradual curve between the two side portions. presents a helical arrangement of their inner edges 21 and serves to move the carcasses longitudinally of the passageway when the carcasses are rotated and jostled in the passageway by the scraping devices 12- and come into contact with the helical edges 21.

The scraping devices 12 are each provid ed with, a hub 22 and a plurality of radially extending flexible heaters 23 which have curved scrapers 24 secured to their forward faces. The shaft 13 which operates the scraping devices12 is arranged below and to one side of the passageway, and is so spaced from the same that when .thedevices are operated the beaters with their scrapers will swing upwardly and laterally through the bottom of the passageway in transversely extending arcs. As viewed from the scalding tub end of the passageway, the scraping devices 12 rotate in; a counter-clockwise direction, and in so doing' serve to rotate the hog carcass in a clockwise direction. I I

The dehairing apparatus thus far described is one which has been used heretofore Y This construction of the bars 11 the scraping devices at 's'i1bstantiall "the same speed; as the devices and: aeoor ingly receive very little real scraping actioin-and a flexible strip 27 preferably of leather or other suitable material secured at its ends to the arm 26 and spanning the arch therein, and a plurality of scrapers 28; and is provided at one end with a pivot pin 29 disposed at a slight angle to its general plane,

and at the otherend with an adjustable weight 30. In Fig. 6 is shown a modification of the arm construction wherein two flexible strips 31 are substituted for the single I flexible strip 27.

The members are pivotally attached to the vertical sides 18 of theU-shaped bars by means of the pivot pins 29 which are secured to and extend at an inclination lieilWiBQl'l,

the bars at points above the scraping devices flatly against the hides oi the carcasses 12. The free ends of the members extend' across to the other side of the passageway and are'adapted to move in the inclined spaces between the inclined sides 19 of the bars, the free ends being limited in their downward movement by adjustably arranged stop pins 32 whichmay be inserted in any one of several arcuately arranged holes 33. arched arms with the pivot pins 29, and the inclined positioning of the pivot pins between the U-shaped bars 11 are for the purpose of permitting a free swinging movement of the members 25 in the incliueil spaces between the U-shaped bars while maintaining the general scraping planes of the members parallel to the axis of the curved lower portion of the passageway in order that the members will swing down passing thereunder.

The operation of the dehairing apparatus of this invention is asfollows:

The carcasses are fed by means of the con -veyor 16 into the scalding tub end of the passageway and-pass through the same in end to end abutment with their major axes substantially in alignment and in parallelism atalltimes with the central axis of th .passageway. 1

The carcasses are caught up from below bythe scrapers of the rotary scraping de-- heaters of the same successively come into' action. In the absence of any braking ac- The angular attachment of thetion applied toi the.- carcasses, .the samewill have imparted thereto a rotary movement which is substantially equal, or nearly so, to that of the scraping devices, wherefore very little relative movement between the scrapers and the hides oi the carcasses will be had. The members 25 however are supported in partly raisedpositions by the carcasses passing thereunder, and exert a dampening action on the vertical jostling of the carcasses, a braking action on their rotation,

and a scraping action. which extends toythe more inaccessible portions at the carcasses which the scraping devices 1 do not usually reach but which the meinbers 25. drop down to and bear upon under a pressure regulated by an adjustment of the weights 30.. hen no portion oi a carcassis below one of the members 25, the member will drop down to a position wherein its free end is supported by the stop pin 32, and as soon as a carcass comes into contact with the member thelatter will be forced upwardly as far. as the size of the carcass requires, the members riding up and down as the carcasses pass 1. In an apparatus for dehairing animal carcasses, a stationary structure forming an elongated carcassguiding passageway through which the carcasses travel in the direction of their longitudinal axes, a plu-rality of scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and movable transversely therein beneath thecarcasses for scraping the same transversely in one direction, and a plurality of auxiliary SCIPflJ'lTLQ' devices arranged.'loi'igitudinally oi: the pas sageway and positioned transverselytherein in spaced relation to the first mentioned devices for scraping the carcasses transversely in the reverse direction as the same are rotated on their axes by the scraping of the first mentioned devices.

2. In an apparatus for dehairing animal carcasses, a stationary structure forming an elongated carcass-guiding passageway through which the carcasses travel in the direction of their longitudinal'axes, a plurality of scraping devices arranged longitndinally of the passageway and movable transversely therein beneath the carcasses action -for scraping the same transversely in one direction. and a plurality of auxiliary scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and positioned; transversely' therein upon the carcasses in selt-adjustably spaced relation-to the first mentioned devices for scraping the carcasses transversely in the reverse direction as the same are rotated on their axes by the scraping action of the first mentioned devices.

3. In an apparatus for dehairing animal carcasses, a stationary structure provided interiorly with a plurality of inclined edge portions forming an elongated substantially horizontal carcass-guiding passageway through which the carcasses will travel in the direction of their longitudinal axes when rotated in engagement with the inclined edge portions of the passageway, a plurality o t scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and movable transversely therein beneath the carcasses for scraping and rotating the same transversely in one direction, and a plurality of auxiliary scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and positioned transversely therein in vertically spaced relation to the first mentioned devices for scraping and retarding the carcasses in the reverse direction as the same are rotated on their axes by the scraping action of the first mentioned devices.

4. In an apparatus for dehairing animal carcasses, a plurality of U-shaped bars arranged in spaced relation with portions of their inner edges inclined and forming an elongated substantially horizontal carcass guiding passageway through which the carcasses will travel in the direction of their longitudinal axes when rotated in engagement with the inclined edge portions of the passageway, a plurality of scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and movable transversely therein beneath the carcasses for scraping and rotating the same transversely in one direction, and a plurality of auxiliary scraping devices arranged longitudinally of the passageway and positioned transversely therein upon the carcasses in self-adjustably spaced relation to the first mentioned devices for scraping and retarding the carcasses transversely in the reverse direction as the same are rotated on their axes by the scraping action of the first mentioned devices.

5. In an apparatus for dehairing animal carcasses, a stationary structure forming an elongated carcass-guiding passageway through which the carcasses travel in the direction of their longitudinal axes, a rotary shaft extending parallel to the passageway and arranged below and to one side of the same, a plurality of scraping devices scared to the shaft and movable arcuately through the lower portion of the passageway beneath the carcasses for scraping the same transversely in one direction, a plurality of arms pivoted for movement in verti *al planes transversely of the passageway on axes substantially parallel to and above the rotary shaft, and a plurality of scraping devices secured to the arms and positioned transversely in the upper portion of the passageway upon the carcasses for scraping the same in the r verse direction as the carcasses are rotated on their axes by the scrap-- ing action of the first mentioned devices.

6. A method for dehairing animal car casses, which gonsists in concurrently moving the carcass in the direction of its longi tudinal axis, scraping the carcass in a direction transverse to its longitudinal axis whereby a torque is applied to the carcass tending to rotate the same, and scraping the carcass in the reverse direction.

7. A method for dehairing animal carcasses, which consists in concurrently moving; the carcass in the direction of its longitudinal axis, scraping the carcass in a direction tranverse to its longitudinal axis whereby a torque is applied to the carcass tending to rotate the same, and scraping the carcass in the reverse direction with a relative movement created by the rotation of the same.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

BERT EUGENE HILL. 

